


You Take My Breath Away

by keepmeinmind



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Pastel Eddie Kaspbrak, Punk Richie Tozier, Roller rink setting, Slow Burn, and benverly, but there will be some stanborough, mention-homophobia, mostly reddie, richies parents arent dicks, some homophobia, sonia still sucks, super hella mega gay, will add more tags as story develops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-07 11:18:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13433619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepmeinmind/pseuds/keepmeinmind
Summary: When DJ job opens at the local roller rink Richie takes it not knowing he would meet the possible love of his life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! So this is my first fic and I'm excited to share this story with you! I hope you all like it! I'll try to update at least once a week!

            FALL~

_Crunch… crunch… crunch._

            That’s the only sound Richie could hear as he roamed the campus streets on this Friday afternoon. The campus was known for being a “suitcase” college; students would vacate to head home for the weekend, leaving the campus streets abandoned and dorm halls hauntingly empty. Richie never went home, he liked staying on campus during the weekends. He was free to do what he wanted, and that included playing his record player as loud as he wanted without his neighbors getting pissed.

            Richie made his way across campus to the designated location where he met up with his friend Beverly Marsh for an afternoon smoke. He could see her already in their usual spot and he quickened his pace shoving his hands deep in his dark denim jacket.

            “Jesus, took you long enough Richie.” Bev said good-naturedly, taking out her pack of cigarettes shivering a little.

            “Sorry Bev, but these tight ass pants really restrict my movements.” Richie remarked with a smirk while adjusting his crotch to get his point across.

            Bev shook her head smiling; it was hard not to smile while Richie was around. He was always the light of the room wherever he went. Richie sat beside Beverly and took out his own pack of cigarettes and lit one up, taking a big drag, feeling the nicotine fill his mouth and lungs.

            “Long day?”

            “Yah, the rents called today. They are cutting me off so I gotta find a job. They said ‘Rich, you need to learn to be more independent and stop relying on us, blah, blah, blah.” Richie said, moving his thumb and forefingers in a mocking gesture of his parents’ speech, flopping down on the decaying grass.

            “Well, I mean you are a junior in college and you have yet to have an actual job,” Bev replied slowly lowering herself next to Richie. “And before you say anything back, no, selling stolen shit is NOT a job.”

            “Aye! I never steal I just find and keep to sell later!”

            “Still not a job Rich.” Bev smiled back, pausing to take a drag from her cigarette before excitedly turning towards Richie. “You know the roller rink downtown is looking for a DJ! That’d be a perfect job for you!”

            “People actually still go there?” Richie scoffed.

            “Yeah! I go sometimes with a group of friends to skate, plus Ben works there.”

            “I am not working there.” Richie took another drag from his cigarette.

            “Oh come on, grumpy pants, lets go over there now and grab an application.” Bev said stubbing out her cigarette and standing up.

            Richie sighed heavily. He did need a job, and this would work well since he _did_ want to go into the radio business. Plus, getting to sit around and play music? He basically already did that in his free time. Might as well get paid to do it, right? He stubbed his cigarette out as well and grabbed Beverly’s outstretched hand, and she pulled him up. Beverly didn’t let go of his hand as she led him eagerly down the street to the run-down looking roller rink.

 

~

 

            The music was blaring inside the rink as Eddie laced his bright white skates up. His skates always stood out compared to the over-used, dusty brown skates that most people rented. His were a pristine, well-cared for white, still looking brand new even though he got them years ago. Soft baby pink laces worked their way up to the top of the skates, tied off in a perfect, practiced little bow. His wheels, however, were brand new, and were the same shade of baby pink as the laces. Both looked absolutely perfect with his white skates. He didn’t care that they looked like women’s skates, he loved them.

            Eddie had always loved skating, it was as close to ice skating as he could get since his over-bearing mother never let him near an ice rink for the risk of him getting sick from the cold temperatures, even though plenty of other kids managed just fine. Despite the uncleanliness of roller rinks and the potential of falling, his mother did let him skate at least once a week as a kid. Being able to skate was his way of expressing himself without ridicule from either his mother or the asshole kids at school. It was also a way for him to cope with his anxiety. Being out on the rink…all his problems disappeared and it was just him, the music, and his skates.

            He stood up from where he was sitting and did a few stretches to make himself limber before he made his way over to the rink. He looked up to see that Ben was working the music booth since the DJ had quit over a week ago so Ben was in charge of the music until they were able to find a new DJ. Eddie smiled and gave a little wave to Ben as he circled around the rink, slowly at first to warm up.

            Eddie circled the rink a couple times doing some weaving to get his legs lose and up to their usual strength and flexibility before he would really lose himself in the music. Since it was a Friday afternoon, the rink was vacant of its weekend evening rush. Eddie gracefully slid up to the booth and gave a list of songs to Ben to play while he skated, which Ben happily took and began queuing up the tracks for Eddie. First to play was one of Eddie’s favorites to skate to: _When I Grow Up_ by The Pussycat Dolls.

            As the song started, Eddie smiled and started skating backwards towards the middle of the rink. The music was pumping loudly through the giant speakers, and Eddie could feel the vibrations thrum throughout every inch of his lithe body. Sometimes he thought skating was better than sex, the way it filled him up so completely with euphoria and made him feel so good. The music always changed Eddie completely, he was able to be free, a whole new person. He could never control what moves he would do while skating, his body just took over and moved so perfectly to the beat with the music, almost like he was in a trance.

            He began to skate around the track, starting to work up to the perfect speed to get him dancing in his skates, and when he got there, his body took over. He began to spin, weave, skate backwards, drop it low, skate on one leg, nearly go into the splits, and at one point he was moving his hips so smoothly it could make absolutely anyone melt. The song was coming to an end as he started to skate normally, feeling the sweat prickle on his forehead between his brows. He ran his fingers through his hair fixing his always perfectly styled hair, adjusting it to maintain its usual quiff swept back from his forehead.

            The music had stopped and he could hear small applause at the opposite end of the track, and turned to see Ben, Beverly, and someone he didn’t recognize clapping and whooping. He could feel the blush creep up his already reddened face. Had they seen the whole thing? He made his way over the other end of the rink.

            “Damn, Eddie, where did you learn those moves!” Beverly said winking and nudging him.

            “Oh…uh, just stuff I’ve seen others do.” Eddie replied shyly, the blush prominently displayed on his cheeks now.

            “Not going to lie, I have a boner right now over that.” The dark curly haired boy said with a wink leaning in to rest his elbows on the rink’s side.

            The breath was sucked from Eddie’s lungs as many conflicting feelings flooded over him all at once: disgusts, flattery, confusion. He could feel his heart in his throat as he just stared blankly at the mysterious man before him. His head was a mop of black curls that fell around his face and neck almost perfectly. Bulky glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, and Eddie could see his magnified eyes that hid behind the thick lenses. His eyes were a soft, welcoming brown, his eyelashes were so thick and long Eddie wondered what they would feel like brushed against his cheek. Freckles were dusted across the bridge of his nose, and Eddie wanted to trace them into constellations.

            “That’s fucking disgusting.” Eddie choked out, trying to cover the multitude of reactions he had had save for the disgust.

            Richie smirked, pleased with himself, and beamed back at Eddie before peering at him over the edge of his glasses, “whatever you say, Eds.” Richie gave a subtle wink down at the smaller boy.

            Eddie could feel himself tense up, he had never felt so simultaneously disgusted and attracted to someone before in his entire life. “Don’t call me that.” Eddie said, before skating quickly backwards away from the three standing there, and taking off.

            Richie looked over to Ben and Beverly, smiling with content. He watched the small boy skate around the track before once again beginning to lose himself in the music. Eddie was wearing the shortest pink shorts, tantalizingly, in Richie’s opinion, exposing his toned thighs. And his ass…man did his ass look perfect, no _more_ than perfect, in those tiny scraps of fabric. They showed the clear definition of Eddie’s similarly toned, pert ass, and it made Richie’s knees weak more than he was willing to admit. Eddie’s torso was covered by an oversized white sweater that hung loosely about his shoulders, and would frequently slide off at least one, exposing bare skin and part of his collarbone. Richie felt like a creep, but he could not stop staring as he watched Eddie skate around, weaving and spinning and dancing in his pearly skates. Richie would be lying if he said that the way that Eddie moved so gracefully and effortlessly didn’t turn him on an alarming amount.

            “Hello? Earth to Richie?” Ben said waving his hand in front of Richie’s face. “You want to follow me so we can fill out that application?”

            “Oh, yeah,” he said, shaking his head slightly to refocus his attention, “Lets go, something _has_ to be done about the music in this joint, it’s fucking terrible.” Richie said stepping away from the trackside, following after Ben. The Rink was small, and had probably seen much better days, but besides that, Richie found that he surprisingly loved the place. The carpet was a dark blue with neon geometric shapes all over it, the booths, bright red with silver accents, looked like they came out of a 50’s diner. And the smell...this is the smell Richie lived for: a mix of candy and pizza and a hint of a musky old smell, distinct but not unpleasant. The smell brought back memories of when his parents would take him bowling every other weekend.

            Richie filled out the application on the spot as Beverly sat beside, him helping him with some of the questions. Ben went off to help some people rent out skates as the night rush was beginning to roll in. The application took about ten minutes before Richie excitedly finished. He was actually kind hopeful and a little elated, the atmosphere of the place definitely swaying him away from his previous apprehensions. He actually really wanted this job now.

            Richie walked out of the rink, looking briefly behind him to see Eddie smiling dazzlingly, and laughing with a look of pure happiness carved into his features. Richie smiled himself, and stuffed his hands in his pocket as he walked out of the building, wanting nothing more than to see Eddie again, and hopefully he would.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the positive feedback! Just wanted to say I also post my chapters on my tumblr @keep-me-inmind-kaspbrak! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

It didn’t take long for Richie to hear back from the roller rink. The few days leading up to the call he would constantly fidget, bounce his leg up and down, tap his fingers on his desk, and constantly check his phone to see if he had by chance missed a call. As soon as he heard his phone ring loudly, _“It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you...”_ Richie nearly sprang out of bed, juggling his phone frantically as he tried to answer it. As soon as he managed to swipe to answer the incoming call he calmly answered, “Hello?”

It was Ben who had called, “Hey Richie! So you got the job and boss wants you to come in to train with me starting Friday. Does that work for you?”

“Haystack! Fuck yeah that works for me! What time do I need to come in? Do I have to wear anything special? Because I swear to fuck if I have to wear a uniform I’m gonna shit.” Richie answered with his mouth running a mile a minute, par usual.

“Shit, slow down, man! No, you don’t have to wear a uniform. Does three in the afternoon work for you?” Ben asked laughing slightly at Richie’s excitement.

“Thank fucking god, I’ll be there at three on Friday!” Richie said with a smile plastered on his face. He hung up the phone and started pumping his fists while shouting out in excitement. He pranced over to his record player and placed a record on his turn table, setting the needle gently down, allowing the silent room to be filled with the sweet music of one of his favorite bands: AC/DC. The bands song _T.N.T_ began to thunder through the room as Richie closed his eyes and flopped on his rackety dorm bed while belting out the lyrics to the song and air playing the drums and guitar at the same time, which you might think is impossible, but Richard Tozier was here to prove you wrong.

He had never been excited about a job, like ever. He fucking hated having to work because of his past experiences working in fast food and at his hometown’s local gas station. He had been fired from both those jobs within a couple months. It wasn’t because he didn’t do the work, it was for his foul mouth. He was well known for having no filter on his colorful language and that came with some consequences all too often.

After the song had finished Richie decided to whip out his phone and shoot a text to Bev.

_Richie: Ya boi got the job B)_

_Bev: I fucking told you that you would get it!!!!_

_Richie: Well who wouldn’t hire this fine piece of ass!?_

_Bev: Whatever you say Rich, when do you start?_

_Richie: Friday, haystack is going to train me_

_Bev: Awesome! Well I gotta go work on the costumes for the play, I’ll talk to ya later! <3_

Richie tossed his phone on his bed as he stood up and walked over to his closet. He grabbed his black worn-down leather jacket that once belonged to his father years ago. He decided it was time for a celebratory smoke in honor of his recent victory in scoring the job. He grabbed his pack of smokes and his lighter and headed out to his usual smoking spot. As he made his way down the softly lit walkways of campus, his mind began to wander back to that boy he saw at the roller rink, Eddie. He had never seen the boy before, not in a single class, not in the cafeteria, or even wandering the campus streets.

            Richie made it to his usual spot; a quiet cut off area behind one of the empty academic buildings, and began to light his cigarette, taking a rather long drag and allowing the smoke to fill his lungs. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back slowly exhaling the bitter smoke. Thoughts of seeing Eddie again began to flood Richie’s head and his nerves kicked in. He had never felt this way about another person ever in his life, and he’s been with plenty of boys and girls. Taking another drag from his cigarette, he knew he wanted to impress Eddie and he would do anything possible to sway the petite boy his direction. Exhaling the rest of the smoke, he dropped the butt of his cigarette and stomped it out. Pushing his hands in his pockets he hoped the week would pass quickly so he could begin working at the roller rink, and maybe, start getting a few more glimpses of Eddie.

~

            Much to Richie’s surprise, the week did not pass as quickly as he hoped. It was filled with quizzes, homework, and even a goddamn paper. As much as Richie came off as the class clown and or as the “village idiot,” grades were really important to him. It was how he was able to go to college; he was on an almost full-ride scholarship to the small university on the coast of Maine. As the week went on he was grateful when Friday rolled around, and he was fidgeting all day waiting for three o’clock to finally come. His last class was at two, which gave him little time to run back to his room to freshen up before his first day on the job. As much as he didn’t care about how others thought he looked, he wanted to make sure he looked somewhat presentable for his first day.

As his last class finished he booked it across campus to his room to quickly change out of his worn out and faded black shirt into one of his favorite t-shirts that had Def Leppard written across the front with a faded British flag behind the distinctive font. He also quickly changed into a pair of his best black skinny jeans that weren’t ripped but clearly used, with a slight fade to them. He fixed his curly locks as best as he could, which was him just running his hands through his hair until it looked somewhat tamed. Looking at the time, he had only fifteen minutes to get to the rink and the drive would take at least ten minutes, so he grabbed his leather jacket and booked it out the dorm, practically sprinting to get to his car on the other side of campus.

 

He stood outside the rink, gazing at the run-down place before he made his way through the door. He was greeted with sounds of shitty pop music and the smell of pizza, candy, and that musky old smell that made him smile instantly.

“Hey there, Richie!” Ben said cheerfully, greeting him with a big smile.

“Well, hey there, Haystack, fancy meeting you here.” he replied with excitement.

“Ready?”

“Hell yeah!” Richie said placing his arm around Ben as he led Richie to the skate rental area.

The first two hours Richie spent learning how to rent out skates as well as how to properly return them. He was hoping he wouldn’t be spending most his time doing this and that he would mainly be working the DJ booth, but he understood that he should know how to do both just in case it became busy and Ben or anyone else would need the extra help. Another hour passed and Ben was showing Richie how to properly clean the skates and organize them by size after they were returned. They sat together spraying the disinfectant spray in each skate while they made small talk, asking each other about school and their majors, since Richie had really had only met Ben once or twice through hanging out with Bev.

“Hey Ben, do you know that Eddie kid?” Richie asked looking over the top of his glasses as he sprayed a pair of skates.

“Uh yeah, I’ve known him since my freshman year. Why?” Ben replied stopping his work to look at Richie.

“Just curious.” Richie said bluntly, shrugging it off like it wasn’t a big deal.

Five o’clock rolled around and Ben said that they could take a 15-minute break before he would train him at the DJ booth. Richie sighed and abruptly stood up, “Thank fuck, I don’t know if I could deal with that disinfectant smell anymore.”

Ben laughed a little, patting his back, “You’ll get used to it.”

Richie saw Ben head towards the back of the building and he was about to follow until he saw a familiar face walk in with a group of boys. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to make his way over to the short figure before Ben grabbed him by his shoulder and dragged him to the break room.

“If you wanted me that bad, Ben, all you had to do was say something.” Richie joked winking at Ben.

He could see Ben blush in embarrassment, “Shut up, Richie. Here is where you’ll clock in and take lunch if you work a long enough shift.”

“Cool beans!” Richie replies while shooting Ben some finger guns.

“So, uh, yeah here’s your clock in number for the next time.” Ben handed a piece of paper to Richie.

“Knock, knock!” Bev interrupted sneaking her head in the break room.

“Beverly, darling!” Richie shouted in his proper English lady accent while running over to her giving her a big hug.

“Oh, well hello Richard!” Bev replied with the same accent pecking the each cheek making a loud kissy noise.

Richie and Bev began laughing before Ben coughed. “Oh Ben! How’s training this piece of shit going?” Bev asked as she made her way over to ben to place a small peck on his lips.

“Ouch, I am hurt, Marsh!” Richie gasped clutching his heart.

“I’ll just say he keeps it interesting.” Ben laughed.

“Hey, the rest of the losers are out waiting to meet the new DJ…” Bev started to say before Richie interrupted.

“Say no more! The fans ask and I shall give them what they want.” Richie said straightening his posture and making his way out of the break room.

Ben and Bev followed behind Richie, rolling their eyes and smiling as they watched Richie confidently make his way out to where the losers were standing in a circle. As Richie made his way to the circle of friends he cleared his throat, “I heard there was a group of fans waiting to meet me?”

“Guys, this is Richie.” Bev said as she and Ben made it to the group.

The group all said hello and introduced themselves. There was Bill, he was taller than Richie, with perfectly styled brown hair and a slight stutter to his speech. Then there was Stan, who was about average height and had curly hair and a sweet smile. Mike was a tall, athletic looking kind of guy who looked slightly familiar, like he had seen him play football or some other sport on campus. Finally there was Eddie, he quietly said his name and Richie couldn’t help but smile.

“Y-y-you b-better play some guh-good music.” Bill piped up.

“What’s wrong with the music?” Eddie exclaimed, crossing his arms standing in a defensive position.

“Its utter crap, that’s what wrong.” Stan said looking at Eddie.

“Well, I think it’s alright.” Eddie replied haughtily.

“Well, I think you’re wrong this time Eddie.” Stan spit fired back.

“Have no fear, record boy is here to save the day!” Richie said running up to the DJ booth to resolve the situation. He got to the computer and was disappointed to see that what the rink used was just a Spotify premium account to play their music. Shaking his head he got to work to find the perfect song to play. It didn’t take him long before he confidently selected _Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go_ by Wham!.

The instant he started the track he could hear the entire group scream, and he looked up to see them make their way to the rink. He could see Eddie looking up at him in the DJ booth, shaking his head and smiling as he took off in his white skates after his friends. Richie watched as they all skated in circles laughing and singing at the top of their lungs. Eddie was putting on a performance clearly enjoying the song as he sang the loudest and would get low, snapping his fingers to the beat and would occasionally begin spinning in circles while shaking his hips.

~

The song came to an end, and Eddie could feel how out of breath he was. He had to admit that Richie did have some decent taste in music, especially as the next song came on and Eddie nearly screamed.   Def Leppard’s _Pour Some Sugar on Me_ blared through the speakers. Eddie took off in a hot fury letting the rock music take him over completely. As he skated away he could see Richie looking down at him smiling ear to ear and singing along to the music as well, bobbing his head back and forth to the music. He felt butterflies form in his stomach, he had never seen someone so beautiful; the way Richie’s unruly curls bounced up and down as he danced to the music and the soft smile that made Eddie feel like he couldn’t breathe anymore.

Eddie could see Richie staring down at him and Eddie decided he wanted to show off a little bit. He started to move his hips in a fluid movement and ran his hands up his side and across his chest. Weaving his skates so he was skating backwards, and that way Richie could only see the back of him. He then spun around just as the song ended and right as he reached the edge of the DJ booth.

The rest of the night seemed to fly by as Richie played a wonderful array of songs that pleased everyone. The track was getting close to shutting down and Eddie was tired, he had skated the entire time he was there, which was getting close to three hours. His legs were burning pleasantly and his hair was damp with sweat. Eddie made his way to a bench to take off his skates. He wheeled up to the dinky, small bench, sat down, and proceeded to slide his skates off, massaging his feet in hopes to dull the stinging pain from skating for so long.

“Hey, we are all going to go to the diner down the street for some food, want to tag along?” Mike said sitting down next to Eddie.

“Yeah sure, let me just finish up here and I’ll meet you there!” Eddie said enthusiastically. Even though he was very health conscious, he couldn’t pass up a strawberry milkshake every now and again. Eddie put his skates in his backpack and made his way out of the rink and walked the three blocks to the diner he was meeting everyone at. Eddie was the first to arrive at the diner and asked for a booth to hold all six of the losers.

Ten minutes passed before he heard the bell above the diner’s door jingle, and the loud voices of Ben, Bev, Stan, Bill, Mike, and Richie followed after. Eddie panicked as he saw the tall dark haired Richie walk in with the rest. He didn’t think Richie would be joining them. Eddie’s chest tightened as the group made it to the table and he could see Richie sliding in to sit right next to him.

“Well, hello, confetti Eddie with a side of Spaghetti!” Richie said placing his arm behind Eddie.

Eddie tensed up as he felt Richie’s arm lace around the top of his shoulders. He could feel his heart leap into his throat and he choked out, “Don’t call me that.”

“Sure thing, Eds.” Richie replied with a smile, giving him a little wink.

Eddie could feel himself blushing; he couldn’t help but admit to himself that he thought the nicknames Richie had already given him were quite cute, and maybe made his heart flutter a little. The waitress came over to take everyone’s orders and Eddie ordered his usual strawberry milkshake with extra whipped cream. Bill and Stan ordered a plate of fries to share, Ben and Bev both ordered a chocolate milkshake, Mike got a burger and fries, and Richie got a double cheeseburger with extra fries. The group looked at him after he stated what he wanted.

            “Jesus, Ruh-Richie, get eh-enough food?” Bill asked good naturedly.

            “I’m a growing boy, Big Bill, a young man needs his protein.” Richie stated.

            “Do you know how unhealthy all that is?” Eddie said with a bit of disgust in his voice.

            “Aw, Eds, tell me something I don’t know.” Richie replied pinching Eddie’s cheek.

            “Don’t fucking touch me!” Eddie in a playful whiny voice pushing Richie softly.

            Just as Eddie pushed Richie the waitress arrived with all their food, placing each order right in front of its respective order-er, and they all began to eat their food. Richie was talking to Bill and exchanging phone numbers so they could hang out and play video games some time. The rest were making small talk, talking about their week, classes, and cracking jokes. Eddie sipped on his milkshake silently keeping to himself as the others inter mingled. He quietly observed how the addition of Richie to the group seemed to make the group seem more complete than before. He smiled a little as he glanced over at Richie to see him throwing fries back and forth laughing.

            “Why you so quiet over there?” Ben asked.

            “Huh? Me? I’m just tired that’s all.” Eddie replied leaning on the table slowly resting his head down.

            “Do you wa-want to g-go back to your d-d-...dorm?” Bill inquired.

            “Yeah, I think I am going to head back.”

            “Do you want me to walk you back?” Mike offered with his ever-kind smile.

            “No, I think I’ll be alright.” Eddie said and started to scoot out of the booth.

            “I don’t think so, Spaghetti, I’ll give you a ride.” Richie said scooting out of the booth grabbing his keys out of his pocket.

            “No, you don’t have to do that, Richie.” Eddie objected.

            “The pleasure is mine.” He bowed dramatically, allowing Eddie to walk in front of him.

            Eddie could feel his airway tighten as he made his way out of the diner, waiting for Richie to follow behind him to his car. Richie soon caught up to Eddie after saying bye to the rest of the losers, “Ready to go, Spaghetti Man?” Richie inquired as he led the way to his beat-up, used car.

            Richie opened the passenger side door for Eddie to climb in. The smell of cigarettes and leather greeted Eddie’s nostrils, and he had hoped that the smell of cigarettes was from the previous owner and not Richie. The driver’s side door opened and Richie hopped into the car.

            “What hall do you live in?” Richie asked as he started up the car.

            “Mayfair Hall on the south side of campus.” Eddie replied pulling his sweater around his hands.

            “Alrighty, Mayfair Hall it is.” Richie backed out of the diner.

            As soon as they were out on the road Eddie saw Richie reach into his pocket and pull out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He could feel his heart drop; Eddie hated smokers, how could someone do that to their body? Eddie watched as Richie lit the cigarette while they were at a stoplight.

            “Could you not smoke in front of me please?” Eddie pleaded.

            “You’re going to make me waste a perfect cigarette?” Richie whined.

            “I will get out of this fucking car right now if you don’t.” He threatened.

            Richie just stared at him as he took a long drag from the cigarette and blew it back out the corner of his mouth. “You better fucking not.”

            “Watch me.” Eddie said as he undid his seat belt and opened the passenger side door and slammed it shut, walking as fast as he could away from the car. He had never felt so repulsed but attracted at the same time. The way Richie held the cigarette between his fingers made it look like it was meant to be there. The way Richie stared down at him as he blew the smoke out of his mouth made his breath hitch. Eddie shook away the thought and stormed down the street. He could see Richie’s car sneak up behind him and Eddie quickened his pace.

            “Eds, what the fuck, get back in the car!” Richie shouted.

            “No!” Was all Eddie felt he needed to yell back.

            “Eddie, seriously get in the fucking car, it’s freezing out!”

            “I am not getting in the car!” Eddie stopped in his tracks turning on his heel to look defiantly at Richie.

            “Eds, please…get back in the car.” Richie pleaded, hoping the sincerity of his words reached his eyes as he implored the other boy.

            Eddie just stared back at him with crossed arms. He watched in a small amount of awe as Richie took his pack of cigarettes, held them up for Eddie to see, and chucked them out the window. Eddie watched the pack of cigarettes land on the opposite side of the road, and Eddie felt his jaw drop. He barely knew Richie and he had just thrown an almost new pack of cigarettes out of his car. _For_ Eddie.

            “Will you get in the damn car now?” Richie asked, but there was a small, hopeful smile on his lips.

            Saying nothing, but feeling his cheeks warm slightly, Eddie gave in and climbed back into the passenger side of the car. He clicked his seatbelt in and sat there with his arms crossed, waiting for the car to start moving, but they were still stopped. Eddie looked over at Richie to see him staring at him, “Well I know not piss you off.” Richie said.

            “Pick up the damn cigarettes. I won’t have you littering on my behalf. But you BETTER throw them away.” Eddie snipped quickly, looking back out the window.

            Richie just smiled at the other boy before opening his door and leaning out to grab the discarded pack.

 

            As Richie got back in the car Eddie could feel his eyes peering over at him. Eddie just sat there, still silent, staring out the front window as Richie took off once again, heading towards campus. Eddie could start to feel the guilt wash over him… had he been too harsh? Did Richie think he was a total ass now? Did he just ruin everything?

            These thoughts solidified deeper and deeper in his mind as the seconds went on. Eddie looked down at his hands that were resting in his lap and began to fidget with his fingers. How could he subtly let Richie know that he still wanted talk, and maybe even see him outside of the rink? Eddie wanted to know more about this trashmouth that sent his heart fluttering every time he looked at him, he wanted to know if Richie was feeling the same thing every time their eyes met. His thoughts were stopped as Richie pulled up to his hall. Eddie looked up to be greeted with Richie looking down at him with the cutest smile Eddie had ever seen. Eddie could feel a small tug at the corner of his lips.

“Uh, thank you.” He said, a little awkwardly. “I…appreciate it.”

            “Sure thing, Spaghetti head.” Richie nodded with a small smile, looking into Eddie’s eyes.

            Eddie nodded back curtly, and began to get out of the car, before he stopped again. He reached into his bag to grab a loose pen before he turned to Richie and grabbed his hand, quickly jotting down his number. He looked up to see Richie smiling, “See you around.” Eddie replied, blushing a little.

            When Richie finally got back to his own room, he chucked the pack of cigarettes into the trash.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here she is! Thank you all for the lovely support it just encourages me to write faster!

Since the evening spent with the losers, Richie has been unable to stop thinking about them, and more specifically Eddie. After dropping Eddie off at his dorm nearly two days ago and getting his number, Richie hasn’t stopped texting him. He didn’t really care to think of the possibility that he may be annoying him, and it seemed that he wasn’t because Eddie would always respond. The texts ranged from random thoughts Richie had throughout the day like:

            _Monday 10:55 am_

_Richie: Hey Eds you know if you dropped an Oreo you could still eat 2/3 of it!_

_Eddie: Wtf no that’s gross!_

_Richie: Well I mean I would still eat the whole damn thing I’m not letting a good fucking Oreo go to waste._

_Eddie: DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY GERMS ARE ON THE GROUND RICHIE!?!?!_

_Richie: Oh well ¯\\_(_ _ツ)_/¯_

 

And other times it was just small talk of _“how was your day?”_ and _“what are your plans for the day?”_

            On Wednesday Richie got a text from both Bill and Eddie asking to if he’d like to join them for lunch that afternoon. Richie was excited to be invited to join the losers for lunch, he already felt connected with them even though he had only really hung out with them once. By the time lunch rolled around Richie booked it out of his class that ended at noon to the university’s cafeteria. Once he arrived, he found most the losers already there waiting for him.

            “ ’Sup fuckers!” Richie exclaimed nearly out of breath throwing his backpack on the seat next to Eddie.

            “Hello to you too?” Mike replied standing up, clearly ready to get food.

            “You really don’t have a filter, do you?” Stan said with a bit of disgust in his voice.

            Richie just shrugs and begins to follow Mike to the various food stations in the cafeteria. He could feel Eddie’s presence behind him and he slows his pace so Eddie’s short legs could catch up. “So what’s on the menu today, Eds? A slice-a pizza with a side of me?” Richie said looking down at Eddie wiggling his eyebrows.

            “First off, no, pizza here is shit. Secondly, in your dreams, Tozier.” Eddie blushed playfully pushing Richie.

            Richie loved seeing the way Eddie would blush so quickly at almost anything Richie would say to him. The way the soft pink would travel up his neck first, and then creep its way to his freckled cheeks. Everyone split up to go to different sections to get food. Richie went to his usual spot, which was the fried food station. Today was corn dogs with french fries day, and Richie swore he could hear the angels sing from above.   After grabbing three corn dogs and a hefty portion of fries, he headed back to the table.

            The rest of the losers were already seated at the table, and all looked up at Richie when they saw how much he had grabbed. Richie stopped and saw that they were all staring at him and he smugly smiled and flopped down into the chair next to Eddie.

            “Jesus, Richie, you got enough on that plate to feed a damn army!” Ben replied as he lowered his fork from the salad he had.

            “Yeah, Ch-christ, man, do y-you eh-ever eat?” Bill added.

            “Only four to six times a day!” Richie responded shoving a fry into his mouth.

            Richie could see the whole group laugh and shake their heads. The small talk began after a brief moment of silence as everyone began eating their food. He could hear Mike talking to Ben about going to work out that evening. He could see Bill and Stan sitting rather close exchanging whispers in each other’s ear and laughing after each exchange. Bev was leaning against Ben as she sketched in her sketchbook, popping grapes into her mouth occasionally. Eddie was quietly eating his hot salad and Richie couldn’t help but stare at him.

            Eddie was wearing a large pastel pink sweater with a light blue collared shirt underneath. His hair was perfectly styled, with his bangs hanging just above his eyebrows. Richie then let his eyes travel up to look at his soft, plump, pink lips. What he would give to feel those lips pressed against his. Richie could feel a warmth form in his stomach as he took in Eddie. Never before in his life had he felt this way about anyone. He didn’t even know Eddie all the much, but he couldn’t help but smile every time he looked at the small figure of Eddie. Richie could feel a smile tug at the corner of his lips and he let out a soft chuckle.

            “What’s so funny?” Eddie said after swallowing his bite, looking up at Richie.

            “Oh nothing, just can’t get over how damn cute you are, Eds.” Richie replied reaching over to pinch Eddie’s cheek.

            Eddie squirmed away as Richie tried to get at his cheek. Seeing this a perfect opportunity, Richie reached for Eddie’s side and started to tickle him. Eddie squealed as Richie tickled his side and was finally able to pinch his cheek.

            “Ah-ha! Victory is mine!” Richie whooped as he shot his arms in the air.

            “Fuck you.” Eddie managed still laughing and trying to catch his breath.

            “Damn, Spaghetti man, didn’t know you were so ticklish.” Richie laughed.

            “Juh-jesus, Eddie, cou-ould you be any l-louder?” Bill asked laughing a bit.

            “Remember that one time when we were like 11 and Bill elbowed him in the side on accident and Eddie fell and began laughing so hard it nearly sent him into an asthma attack?” Ben said.

            The table began to erupt with laughter reminiscing on the memory. Richie watched as Eddie crossed his arms and said, “Hey, it’s not funny!”

            “You gotta admit it was kinda funny.” Mike added while the rest of the losers nodded along with Mike laughing.

            Eddie began to smile and begrudgingly nodded his head in agreeance, “Well, I got to get to class, I don’t want to lose my spot.”

            “I gotta get going too.” Beverly added standing up with her tray.

            “I guess we should all get back to class, have a good day guys!” Mike said grabbing his dirty tray.

            Everyone began to walk out of the cafeteria and on to their respective classes for the rest of the day. Richie walked up to Eddie’s side and asked, “What class do you have now?”

            “Organic Chemistry.” Eddie sighed.

            “Sounds fucking disgusting.”

            “It’s not too bad, just stressful. I have to pass in order to get into the pharmacy tech program.” Eddie tensed up at the thought.

            “Ahhh okay. I think you can do it, you’re pretty smart.” Richie said shrugging his backpack on his shoulders.

“Thanks, Richie.” Eddie sighed.

They reached outside the science hall and Eddie began to make his way in before he turned around, “Hey Richie, you working Friday?”

“Yeah, who else would bring the sick beats?” Richie replied smiling.

“Okay, cool, uh…I’ll see you later then.” Eddie shyly said, looking down at his hands before looking up at Richie with the smallest smile and then making his way into the building.

~

            Friday came quicker than Eddie had thought and he was grateful the weekend was here. He was exhausted from the dense week of homework, quizzes, and a test in his chemistry class that day. The only perk to his week was the time he was able to text Richie or even see him briefly. He felt all the weight of the world lift off his shoulders when he would hear his laugh or feel the buzz of his phone in his pocket.

            Eddie would lie in his stiff dorm bed late at night staring at the ceiling thinking of Richie, thinking of the feeling of butterflies in his stomach that would travel the rest of his body every time he thought of the tall lanky boy. He loved how carefree Richie was, something Eddie had only felt out on the skating rink. He wanted Richie to teach him to feel that carefree all the time.  

            Around eight in the evening Eddie made his way to the roller rink, allowing himself at least an hour and a half of skating before the rink would shut down for the night. He moved swiftly in the cool crisp night making his usual 20-minute walk to the rink a shorter 12-minute walk. Eddie was one for taking his time on walking to the rink, being able to breathe the fresh air, look at the stars, and watch strangers pass; but tonight was different he wanted to make sure he had enough time to see Richie.

            Once he made it to the rink Eddie could hear the music thumping through the walls and he could feel the smile spread across his face. Eddie sauntered into the rink and could see Richie in the DJ booth dancing to the music and Eddie’s heart immediately leapt out of his chest.   Trying to keep his calm he took a deep breath and walked over to his usual spot to put his skates on. He quickly laced them up and took off his jacket and headed for the track.

            He made it to the edge of the track and he could hear Richie yell, “Hey Eds, fancy seeing you here!”

            Feeling his heart leap to his throat Eddie smiled and stepped out on to the track and began to skate. Eddie began his usual warm ups as he weaved, stretched his arms, and stretched his legs. After stretching he slowly began to lose himself in the music. The voice of Britney Spears rang through the speakers and Eddie smiled as the lyrics to the song _Toxic_ began. He could feel his body lose all the tension that had been held as he danced to the song. As the chorus came he belted out the lyrics like he was the only one in the room. He would occasionally glance up at the DJ booth to see Richie dancing along and singing as well.

            The rest of the night Eddie felt like he was floating, and the night was coming to an end. Eddie had been skating all night and decided to quickly get a drink before the last song. After taking a couple big gulps from his water bottle he was back on the track. Tonight was busy and there were still a handful of people skating with him. Just as he stepped out on the track he looked up at Richie who was just grabbing for the microphone.

            “All right everyone thanks for coming out tonight, it’s been a blast! This last song goes out to all the _cuties_ out there!” Richie said looking down at Eddie and winking.

            Eddie could feel himself flush as the song _Uptown Girl_ by Billy Joel began to play. His heart was fluttering and his stomach was warm and he couldn’t seem to move. As soon as Billy Joel’s voice came through the speakers though Eddie took off, ready to put on a show. He began by skating backwards before spinning and ending up facing forwards again. He was dancing in his skates, his hips popping side to side with every beat of the tune, and he was belting out the lyrics with everyone else. Eddie never actually learned how to dance in any formal capacity, but he knew how to _move_ , and move he did; using his arms to accentuate his body in time with the lyrics as he used his legs to perform almost every trick he knew. He felt good, and he _knew_ he looked good. Eddie didn’t need to look up at the DJ booth to know that Richie was staring at him.

            After the song came to an end Eddie made his way off the track and gracefully skated over to the bench where his jacket and backpack were. As he reached the rickety bench he saw Richie standing there waiting for him.

            “Well look, it’s my skating prince!” Richie said, opening his arms for a hug.

            “Please don’t call me that…like ever.” Eddie chuckled back, but went in to return the hug anyway.

            “Ugh fine!” Richie exclaimed, “But I’m here to ask you if you wanted to go on a drive after I close down shop?”

            “Oh…uh sure!” Eddie said nervously, excited flutters beginning in his stomach.

            “Cool beans! I’ll meet you outside?”

            “Sounds good!” Eddie replied excitedly.

            Eddie unlaced his skates and sprayed them down to keep them from developing that musky smell and then shoved them in his backpack. Eddie slid his lavender bomber jacket on and made his way outside. He then texted Stan to let him know that he’d be back later and that he was going on a drive with Richie.

            Eddie waited only a little bit before Richie emerged from the rink wearing his dark denim jacket. Eddie watched as Richie’s hands reached in his pocket pulling out a pack of gum. His heart almost sank for a second thinking he was going to pull out a pack of cigarettes, but was surprised to see the mint green Trident pack. Eddie could feel his heart flutter up to his throat as Richie got closer.

            “Ready to go?” Richie asked smacking his gum loudly.

            “Yup!” Eddie responded sounding giddy.

            “After you m’lad-lady.” Richie said holding his arms out to guide the way to the passenger side of the car.

            “Wait, did you just call me m’lad-lady?” Eddie asked letting a laugh slip.

            “Yeah? Would you prefer m’ineral?”

            “Oh god what the fuck, please don’t say that.”

            “M’ineral.” Richie said while opening the passenger door giving Eddie the most shit eating grin.

            Eddie sighed and rolled his eyes and slid into the passenger side of the car. He buckled his seat belt just as Richie got into the driver’s seat. Richie turned to look at Eddie and asked “Where to?”

            “The quarry.” Eddie smiled back at Richie.

            Eddie could feel the car start and take off out of the parking lot of the roller rink. The drive to the quarry wasn’t long, only about ten minutes, it was only just down the road. Eddie was looking out the window up at the sky, it was clear with the stars speckling the sky like the freckles on Richie’s nose.

            The car rumbled to a stop as Richie pulled up to the side of the road where the path to the quarry began. Eddie climbed out of the passenger side wrapping his coat around his small frame. He walked to the front of the car where Richie stood still loudly chewing his gum.

            “Could you chew any louder?” Eddie asked sounding a bit disgusted.

            “It’s either me chewing gum or me smoking, pick your poison.” Richie fired back.

            “Gum, but can you just chew a bit quieter?” Eddie pleaded.

            “Sure thing.”

            They began walking down the path that led to the quarry, Eddie having to quicken his pace to keep up with Richie’s long strides. “So Ed’s, how did your test go today?”

            “Ugh, it was nearly impossible, there were so many structures I had to draw and that I am pretty sure I fucked up.” Eddie sighed.

            “I’m sure you did great, Spaghetti Head! I mean you’re really smart, I saw the grades from your quizzes.” Richie reassured.

            “Thanks, I just really need to pass this class.” Eddie sighed.

            They talked about the rest of their day, Eddie asking Richie how his classes were and Richie asking Ed’s if he had any plans for the weekend. The walk took about another ten minutes before they reached a clearing by the edge of the quarry. Eddie plopped down on the grassy area, leaning back on his hands to look up at the stars once again. They had always fascinated Eddie, but the thought of space terrified him so he never did any in-depth research on them. His thoughts were interrupted as Richie sat down beside him, sitting cross-legged and letting their knees touch each other.

            “You look at the stars a lot don’t you?” Richie asked.

            “Yeah, they’re beautiful. So simple looking, and scatter the night sky bringing light to that massive expanse of dark.”

            “Yeah, you’re right.” Richie replied tilting his head back looking up at them as well. “So Ed’s, tell me about yourself.”

            “Wh-what? Like what?” Eddie asked.

            “Where did you grow up? Why do you skate? Just tell me about you.”

            “Well umm…I grew up in a small town about 45 minutes away called Derry. It is a shit hole of a town, full of close minded people, but it’s beautiful, and something about it makes you wanna go back.” Eddie sighed before continuing again. “High school was rough. I came out my sophomore year as gay and the losers were happy for me, that I could finally embrace myself and not have a barrier. But the backlash makes me regret it sometimes. I was beat so bad by Henry and his gang, I was called fag, and it was just all awful.

            “The only place I felt safe was not at home or at school but at a roller rink just on the outskirts of Derry. At the rink I felt completely me, I was free to express myself.” Eddie closed his eyes smiling a little reminiscing on the start to his skating.

“When I was younger my over-bearing mother would allow me to go to the roller rink once a week for a short time, and those days were the best.

            “Anyway high school is really when I started to get into skating, I would go right after school to skate for an hour or two. It was my way to escape the reality of how shitty everything was. Escape the bullying at school, escape the constricting grip of my mother, and just escape everything.” Eddie smiled looking up at Richie.

            “Your mother, why was she over-bearing?” Richie asked.

            “Well, when I was young my father died and my mother lost it. She wanted to keep me away from any and all danger and put this vice grip on me. She was constantly worried about me getting sick, breaking something, or whatever else her over-active imagination concocted. She convinced me that I was always sick and would stuff pills down my throat. She even had me think I was an asthmatic, which was all just bullshit.” Eddie could feel the anger start to emerge.

            “Shit… that sucks.” Richie said weakly, unable to think of any stronger sympathy to offer on the spot.

            “It’s alright. The losers really helped me out and I honestly wouldn’t be here without them.”

            Eddie sat still looking at Richie feeling his warm brown eyes burrow into him. Richie soon piped up, “You’re so fucking strong you know that? Like all the shit you went through, like fuck, I don’t think I could’ve done it.”

            Eddie sat there, looking at Richie feeling the warmth creep up his cheek. He uncrossed his legs and laid back on to the grass, “What about you, Richie, tell me about yourself.”

            “Well, I think I’m pretty hot, I got a nice ass, uhh… oh, and I’m packing, if you know what I mean.” Richie smiled, winking.

            “Shut up, seriously tell me about yourself.”

            “I grew up alright, I mean your typical white picket fence family. Mom was part of the PTA and worked hard, Dad had a typical nine to five job. They were busy most the time and didn’t pay too much attention to me, but they were still good parents. I had a good group of friends and was the class clown, and now I’m here.”

            “What brought you here though?”

            “It’s far away. I just wanted to get away.”

            Eddie just stared at Richie. While he was talking he noticed how he picked at the grass hunched over and would bounce his foot every now and again. Eddie couldn’t help but feel that Richie was holding back on something, but he wasn’t sure quite what. Richie soon flopped back onto the grass placing his hands behind his head. Eddie turned to look at the side of Richie. He was long and slender, the hem of his shirt riding up and showing his bare hip. Eddie could feel his chest rise in a shaky breath.

            “Take a picture it’ll last longer.” Richie rolled his head over to look at Eddie.

            “Fine, maybe I will.” Eddie fired back turning on his side to look at Richie closely.

            “I’m waiting.” Richie softly said back.

            Eddie reached into his back pocket to grab his phone to take the picture of Richie. Once he had a hold of his phone he opened up the camera and began to snap the picture. The flash went off right into Richie’s face. Panic began to rise as Eddie moved his phone away from Richie’s direction, “FUCK! Shit, I’m sorry Richie.”

            “If I wasn’t blind before I am now.” Richie laughed rubbing his eyes.

            Eddie relaxed a bit and began to laugh along with Richie. Eddie flopped back down on the grass this time a bit closer to Richie. He could feel the heat coming off of the other boy, and it sent chills up Eddie’s spine, being this close to him. Eddie closed his eyes and took a deep breath in of the cool air. He felt at peace right here, right now, with Richie.

~

            A short while passed before Eddie was starting to get cold and asked if they could head back to school. They walked back to Richie’s car, Eddie walking close by letting his hand graze Richie’s every once in a while. Every time their hands did touch Eddie would look up to see if Richie had noticed and it seemed that he did. A smile would sneak across Richie’s face every time.

            They got to the car and headed back to school, though this time the ride was far from quiet. As Richie got into the car he started to turn up the radio. The song _Come On Eileen_ came blasting through the speakers. Richie turned onto the road and began driving back to school. Eddie started belting the lyrics and dancing in the passenger seat of Richie’s car. Richie was singing along as well, nearly screaming them out as if no one else was in the room.

            It wasn’t long before they had pulled up outside of his hall. Richie put the car in park and turned down the radio and looked over at Eddie. He looked over at Richie before twisting around to the passenger seat to grab his backpack.

            “Thanks for tonight, I had a lot of fun.” Eddie said shyly.

            “Anytime, hot stuff.” Richie said winking at Eddie.

            Eddie sat there for a while staring at Richie, looking at his eyes, then down to his slightly chapped lips, back up to his eyes. Before Eddie could comprehend what he was doing he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the Richie’s cheek. He quickly retracted feeling the heat race up his body and began to grab the door to open it. He saw a long arm reach over to grab the door and shut it. Eddie soon felt a callused hand gently grab his chin and guide him to the soft warmth of his lips. Eddie was kissing Richie. His mind was nearly swimming. He leaned into Richie’s kiss, wanting to taste more of him, but it was cut short as Richie pulled away.

            “Good night.” Richie said, nearly a whisper.

            “Night.” Eddie said breathlessly as he slowly backed out of Richie’s car.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking to long to update! University has been keeping me busy. I hope you all enjoy this chapter it was super fun and challenging to write!

After dropping Eddie off at his dorm Richie sat in his car, heart racing, lips tingling, and euphoria racing through his veins. He laid back in his seat, tilting his head back letting out his shaky breath, and he began to laugh. He can’t believe that had actually happened. He could still feel Eddie’s soft lips on his; he could still taste them, they were a mix between vanilla and berries. Smiling a bit, Richie sat up and put the car into drive and headed to the parking lot near his building.

            As Richie made his way into his dorm room he was greeted by the dark silence that resided there. He flicked the light on and went over to his record player and placed the needle on the record that was already on the turntable. As the record began to spin static came through the speakers, and then the familiar chimes of _Can’t Fight This Feeling_ by REO Speedwagon hummed throughout Richie’s dorm room.

            “ _I tell myself that I can't hold out forever_  
I said there is no reason for my fear  
'Cause I feel so secure when we're together  
You give my life direction  
You make everything so clear”

Richie flopped on to his bed and closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. Each lyric hit him and would bring his swirling thoughts straight to Eddie. Since meeting Eddie, Richie has been the happiest he has ever been. He hasn’t felt alone, he has been inspired to be the best person he could be, and he even gave up smoking for the damn boy.

            “ _My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you_  
I've been running around in circles in my mind  
And it always seems that I'm following you, girl  
'Cause you take me to the places  
That alone I'd never find”

 

            As the lyrics swarmed Richie’s head he knew he had to do something about his feelings for Eddie. He wanted-…no, he needed to ask Eddie out on a date, a formal date, like a movie and dinner or something, something even better.

            Richie’s train of thought was interrupted as his phone started ringing. He looked down at it and saw that Bill was calling him.

            “Aye, whats cracka-lackin?” Richie answered.

            “Hey R-Richie! How a-are you?”

            “Oh you know, just visiting your mom,” Richie said with a humorous ring to his voice.

            “S-seriously, Richie? Beep b-beep. I was c-calling to a-a-ask you to juh-join us at game night wi-with the rest of the sq-squad.” Bill responded.

            “Wait a fucking second, did you just beep beep me!? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

            “It means sh-shut up, Richie, now a-are you d-down for tuh-morrow or not?”

            “Ouch! I am hurt, Billiam!” Richie gasped into the phone, clutching his chest despite the fact that Bill could not see him do so. “But I guess I’ll make an appearance, as long as we play monopoly.”

            “Psh, g-good fucking l-luck, Eddie will k-hick you’re a-ass.” Bill said derisively.

            “I’ll be there, what time does the party start and where at?”

            “P-probably around s-seven ‘o clock, and at B-bev’s a-a-partment on c-campus.”

            “Okay, I’ll be there, see you tomorrow, get ready to fucking lose!” Richie said in a rush before hanging up the phone before Bill could fire back.

            If Eddie was going to be at this get together tomorrow, it would be the perfect time to ask him out on a formal date. Richie could feel his gut turning in anticipation and nervousness, but he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his lips at the same time. Richie grabbed his phone and looked at the time and saw that it was getting close to one in the morning. Sighing, he plugged his charger into his phone, ripped his shirt and pants of, and went to bed.

 

~

            Richie had slept in well past noon the next day. It was typical of him to sleep this late, hell, he could probably sleep until one or two in the afternoon without anything to rouse him. After getting up, Richie spent most of the day in his bed playing video games until it was time to get ready.

            As the time to leave got closer he got ready, putting on a what he hoped was a clean band tee shirt, his ripped black jeans, and a grey and black flannel to top it off. He grabbed his leather jacket as he left his room and headed towards Bev’s apartment.

            It wasn’t too long of a walk, maybe ten to fifteen minute, but the cold evening made him walk a bit faster in hopes he would reach Bev’s all the sooner. As he got closer to the apartment building he saw Stan and Eddie walking into the complex. Quickening his pace, he made it in just before the door shut and saw Eddie and Stan make their way up the stairs.

            “Hey buckos, wait up!” Richie yelled.

            “Oh hey, Richie.” Eddie turned around, smiling and waving down at him.

            “Did Bill invite you?” Stan asked turning around as well to face Richie.

            “Yup! Get ready to get fucking destroyed during monopoly!” Richie said making his way up towards Stan and Eddie.

            “Not possible! I have won every game since we started game night.” Eddie said proudly puffing out his chest a bit.

            “Get ready to meet your match, Kaspbrak.” Richie looked down at him and gave him a sly smile with a wink.

            “Oh god.” Is all Stan was able to say as he made his way down the hall towards Bev’s apartment.

            Richie and Eddie walked side by side down the hall. As they reached the door Richie stood there motioning Eddie to go ahead and enter first. Eddie looked up at Richie and just smiled softly as he made his way through the doorway into the apartment.

            Richie made his way across the apartment to find Ben and Bev in the kitchen fixing bowls of chips, and Bill and Mike in the living room getting the first game: Twister. A smile spread across Richie’s face. He loved twister, it was super easy for him, one of the (only) benefits of having long, gangly limbs.

            His thoughts were interrupted when Mike turned to look at Richie and said, “You in?”

            “Get ready to lose!” Richie said taking off his jacket and shoes, and made his way over to the mat.

            The rest of the losers joined them in the living room and Bill took the spinner and started the game with the first spin, “Okay, l-left hand red.”

            The losers sat and watched as Richie and Mike progressively became a human pretzel, and Mike would try to elbow Richie to get him to fall but Richie was quick to twist out of the way. Bev and Stan started to make a bet on who would win, Bev standing her ground cheering on Richie and Stan telling Mike to take Richie down.

            “Left f-foot b-blue!” Bill shouted.

            Everyone was sitting on the edge of the couch as Richie twisted above and around Mike to get his left foot on blue. As he set his foot down he wobbled and almost slipped but managed to still stay up. He looked over at the couch and could hear Bev and Eddie cheering Richie on. As he turned his head he felt Mike move to get his foot on a blue, he had to almost do the splits to get to the closest blue. Mike reached and reached but as soon as he put his foot down he collapsed in a fit of giggles.

            Richie shot up and started whooping and hollering over his victory. Looking down he saw Mike laughing and Richie lowered his hand to help him up. “Damn Richie, you made that look so fucking easy!” Mike said patting Richie on the back.

            “Practice makes perfect, and I get plenty of that.” Richie winked at Mike giving a soft chuckle. “Would anyone like to challenge the victor?!”

            “Let’s go.” Eddie said immediately after.

            Richie’s eyes shot open and watched as Eddie made his way off the couch towards the mat. “You’re going down, Spaghetti Man.” Richie said playfully to Eddie.

            “We will see about that.” Eddie shot back with a bit a playful smile on his lips.

            Bev took the spinner from Bill and gave it a flick, “Right hand red, boys!”

            Richie slapped his right hand down on the closest red, and Eddie followed by slapping his hand right above the red Richie’s hand was on. Richie looked up at Eddie and saw him smiling devilishly at him. Richie swallowed as he heard Bev shout the next position, “Left foot blue!”

            Richie twisted his body to get his left foot comfortably on blue. He looked at Eddie, nodding at him and waiting for him to make his move. Eddie elegantly moved in, positioning his left foot right under and next to Richie’s left foot. They were slowly becoming intertwined and Richie could see what Eddie was attempting to do.

            “Right foot yellow!” Bev shouted looking down at the boys, giggling at where this was going to lead.

            Eddie was the first to move to Richie’s surprise, he slyly snuck under Richie swinging his left leg to let his foot comfortably rest on the yellow for a second. Eddie swung his hips up to position himself better, allowing his side to graze Richie’s side. His breath hitched a bit as Eddie looked at him from the corner of his eye with a sneaky grin peaking through.

            Richie took a deep breath and swung his left foot in front of Eddie’s positioning himself over top of Eddie. “Looks like we are giving everyone a show, huh Eds?” Richie whispered down at Eds.

            Eddie whipped his head around and said, “Only if you make it a show.” And with that Eddie stuck his ass out and bumped it against Richie’s lower thigh.

            “Jesus Christ, you two!” Ben said laughing a bit.

            “If you two wanted to play that kind of twister the room is down the hall!” Bev responded flicking the spinner again.

            “This calls for me to go get a drink.” Stan stood up, grabbing Bills hand and leading them towards the kitchen.

            “Right hand yellow.” Bev shouted with a grin.

            Richie took his right hand and placed it behind him to give himself some leverage and Eddie took his hand and placed it in front of him. Bev flicked it again and called various other positions. Soon Bill and Stan made it back to the living room to see Richie and Eddie still intertwined but in a less provocative position.

            “Right foot green!” Bev said.

            Richie was already in a nearly impossible position to get out of and Eddie was making it more difficult than usual. Eddie had already moved his foot and was waiting on Richie to make his move. Richie took in a deep breath and tried to wiggle his way around Eddie, it was increasingly difficult to sneak around him every way he turned to place his foot. Eddie had his body positioned in a way that made his stomach tighten and could feel his blood rush to his lower body.

            Richie bit his lip as he tried to place his foot in the green spot but lost his balance and fell. Eddie shot up, jumping up and down celebrating his victory. Richie lay on the mat taking deep breaths smiling a bit trying to get himself to calm down before sitting up.

            “Take that, Tozier!” Eddie shouted still celebrating his win.

            “You may have won the battle, but you haven’t won the war.” Richie responded slowly, standing up.

            “That’s what you think.” Eddie spouted back, poking Richie’s shoulder playfully.

            “Now now, boys, no fighting in my house!” Bev said standing next to Richie.

            Richie just laughed and headed over to the couch and flopped down grabbing the closest snack bowl. Eddie came and sat next to Richie on the couch and snuck his hand into the snack bowl grabbing a couple of chips and popping them into his mouth. Richie and Eddie sat and watched as Bill and Stan challenged each other at twister, which didn’t last very long before Bill fell after only the fifth position was called. They watched as Ben and Bev played a round that went on for quite a while before Ben’s hand slipped while moving his right foot.

           “Can we play monopoly now?” Eddie asked as Mike and Ben were folding up the Twister mat.

           “The last time we played you left crying Eddie.” Stan said.

           “So? Let’s play, please!” Eddie pleaded.

           “Huh-how ab-bout UNO? “ Bill offered up

           Everyone nodded, all agreeing on playing the game UNO. Richie sat down on the floor and everyone join in, forming a circle around the deck of cards, and Mike began to deal out the cards to each of the losers. The game started off slowly, but started to pick up pace as Richie, Eddie, and Bill had two cards left. It had come up on Eddie’s turn, he looked over at Richie and gave him a shit-eating grin as he placed a draw four card down, “UNO.”

           “ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME RIGHT NOW?!” Richie shouted.

           “Sorry not sorry.” Eddie shrugged.

           “You are going to pay for that, Spaghetti.”

           Everyone took their turn and it came to Eddie and he smiled and slapped his card down. Richie threw his cards down, “Fuck, are you serious!?!”

           “Yeah, someone a sore loser?” Eddie said, smiling back at Richie.

           “Yeah, actually I am, I want a rematch!” Richie exclaimed.

           "No, I think we should watch a movie.” Stan interrupted.

           "I ag-gree, i-it’ll be a g-good way to eh-end the n-night, don’t you think?” Bill added.

           Everyone else nodded and had agreed they’d like to watch a movie. Richie sighed and caved in and agreed as well. He helped clean up the game with Eddie; they collected all the cards and put them back in the designated box. Once they had cleaned up the game they made their way back to the living room where the TV was already set up with the movie the losers had chosen to watch, _The Goonies._ The couch was taken up, so was the love seat, all that was left was a rather large beanbag chair that could fit two.

           Richie walked over to the beanbag chair and sat down in the middle of it, and he looked up at Eddie with a smile and patted the side of it motioning for him to sit down. Eddie grabbed a blanket on the side of the couch, wrapped himself up and then sat down next to Richie. The movie started and they all fell silent as they watched the 1980s classic.

           After the movie had gone on for a bit of time, Richie could feel something fall against his shoulder softly. Looking down, he saw Eddie quietly asleep with his head resting on his shoulder. Richie carefully maneuvered his arm to wrap around Eddie’s shoulders, hoping it would be a bit more comfortable for him, and Eddie sleepily shifted his head so that it was now against Richie’s chest. The result was a softly snoring Eddie tucked under Richie’s arm, and the lanky boy couldn’t help but smile down at him throughout the rest of the movie.

 

           As the movie was coming to an end, Eddie slowly began waking up, shifting slightly beneath Richie’s arm. The credits began to roll, and Bev flipped the lights on and everyone groaned and covered their eyes.

           Damn, Bev, you could’ve warned us you were turning the lights on!” Richie said, rubbing at his eyes.

           “Sorry!” she said, not really sorry.

           Richie stood up carefully and stretched as Eddie was still curled up in the beanbag, rubbing at his eyes against the harsh light. Richie looked down at Eddie and said, “Did you sleep well, little prince?” with a slight smirk on his lips.

           Eddie flushed bright red and responded, “Shut up.”

           Stan made his way over to Eddie and whispered in his ear, something Richie couldn’t hear, but Eddie just nodded and told Stan he’d see him later. Stan then walked away toward Bill and they grabbed their coats and shoes and left, thanking Bev for a wonderful time and wishing everyone a goodnight. Shortly after they left Mike asked to stay the night at Bev’s knowing they were going to Bill’s room.

           Richie saw Eddie grab his shoes and coat and begin to thank Bev for the game night and food, and slowly back out the door after saying bye to everyone. Richie quickly grabbed his shoes and coat and hugged Bev hastily before heading out the door to catch up with Eddie.

           Eddie luckily hadn’t made it too far, and Richie was able to catch up easily. He walked up to Eddie’s side and kept quiet for a short while before piping up, “You want me to walk you to your dorm?”

           “Thanks, but I think I’ll be fine.” Eddie responded with a smile.

           “Are you sure, Eds? You don’t sound so sure.” Richie nudged.

           “I’ll be fine, Richie, seriously.”

           They continued walking, the only sound being exchanged was the crunch of gravel under their feet. Richie took a deep breath, he knew that this was the time to ask Eddie out. Richie stopped in his tracks to see Eddie had stopped walking a while ago and wasn’t to far behind him, just standing there looking at Richie.

           “Everything okay, Eds?” Richie asked with a bit of concern in his voice.

           "Uh yeah!” Eddie said quickly back, his hands worrying the fabric of his sleeve, clearly looking a bit nervous. He began to walk back up towards Richie.

           “Spaghetti man, something is up. You always fidget with your sleeve when you are nervous.” Richie said while walking up to Eddie to meet in the middle.

           “I do not!” Eddie fired back in a huff, crossing his arms across his chest.

           “Hate to break it to ya, kiddo, but you do. It’s cute, not gonna lie.” Richie said shrugging.

           Richie watched as Eddie looked up at him, smiling that small smile that sent Richie’s heart aflutter. Richie was about to pipe up and ask Eddie out but was taken back when Eddie spoke first.

           “Richie?”

           “Yeah?”

           “I was wondering…if you’d like to go on a real date? I mean if you want to. You can say no if you don’t want too…” Eddie said blushing, looking up at Richie with his big, round, dark eyes.

           Richie could feel his heart beat go straight up to his throat as he stood there speechless for a second or two, but when Eddie started to look a little crestfallen, he snapped back to his senses. “YES!” Richie shouted emphatically, a wide grin taking over his features.

           Richie could see Eddie smile back, clearly looking beyond excited to see that Richie had said yes. Richie was shocked that Eddie had beat him to the punch on this one, but kind of glad he did. It only reassured him that Eddie was having the same feelings for Richie that he was having for the smaller boy.

           “What day works best for you?” Eddie asked beginning to walk again this time a bit closer to Richie, soft warmth radiating off of him and brushing Richie’s skin.

           “For such a cutie as yourself? Anytime works for me, babe.” Richie said with a wink and a smile.

           “Wednesday?” Eddie said with a soft voice, looking up at Richie with a smile.

           “Sure thing, hot stuff.”

           Richie could hear a soft giggle escape Eddie’s lips, and he swore that the sound of that giggle sent his stomach into an instantaneous fit of butterflies. They continued to walk towards the dormitories, each exchanging glances at the other when neither of them were looking. Eddie soon piped up, “So, you want to do like, dinner and then go skating after?”

           Richie could feel a blush rise to his cheeks, “Dinner sounds great, but ya boy here can’t roller skate.”

           “WHAT!? Richie Tozier can’t roller skate?” Eddie gasped, in mostly real horror. “You work at a skating rink!”

           “What, I never learned!” Richie responded throwing his hands up in defense.

           “Well, I guess someone will have to teach you, huh?” Eddie said walking closer to Richie and nudging him with his elbow while wiggling his eyebrows.

           “As long as the teacher is hot.”

           “I think I can handle that.” Eddie said blushing a little, looking up at Richie with a cunning smile.

           After the short walk they ended up outside Eddie’s dorm. They stood there looking at the dorm for a short while before Richie said, “Looks like I ended up walking you back.”

           “I guess so.” Eddie chuckled.

           “Well, Mr. K, I bid you a good evening.” Richie said taking Eddie’s hand bowing down to give it a soft peck.

           “Goodnight Richie.” Eddie giggled as he backed away into the dorm.

           Richie stood there as he watched Eddie walk into the dorm safely. He exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and grinned like an idiot to himself as he began to walk away to his own dorm.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Sorry this chapter took forever I had the worlds worst writers block, but the new chapter is here and is the longest chapter yet! I did have major help from @cestleprobleme on tumblr with writing this chapter and I'd like to thank her! I hope you guys enjoy! <3

_“Well, Mr. K, I bid you a good evening.” Richie said taking Eddie’s hand, bowing down to give it a soft peck._

            Eddie’s heart leapt out of his chest as Richie took his hand and placed a soft kiss on it. A soft giggle escaped his lips as he said goodnight to Richie and backed his way into the dorm.

            Once Eddie was in the building he let himself fall back against the stony wall and began to laugh softly, the sound bubbling out of his chest, covering his flushed face with his hands. Eddie had never felt so happy and giddy in any moment like he did now. He had just asked Richie out on a proper date and Richie had said yes _._ Eddie smiled as he pushed himself off the wall and made his way back up to his room.

~

            The days leading up to Wednesday went by agonizingly slow for Eddie, and his excited anticipation only made it worse. He had two tests, a quiz, and a paper all due before Wednesday, and in order to get everything done, he had to spend most of his time studying, writing his paper, or sleeping. Being in college barely gave him anytime for himself, let alone for his friends.

            By Tuesday evening Eddie was exhausted and just wanted to sleep for the rest of the week, but the only thing keeping him from doing just that was his date with Richie the following day. Eddie was super excited to go out with Richie and get to know him more, but his nerves were beginning to kick in, and Stan could tell.

            “Eddie, everything will be alright, just be yourself.” Stan said reassuringly.

            Eddie had told Stan everything that had happened between he and Richie, from all the texts they exchanged to the way Richie made him feel. As much as Eddie knew Stan didn’t really care for Richie’s sense of humor, he knew that Stan actually kind of liked Richie, and at the very least liked how he made Eddie feel.

            Eddie sighed, “Yeah, you’re right, but I’m just so nervous.”

            “Its okay to be nervous Eddie, just take a deep breath, everything will go great. I can tell he really likes you.” Stan reassured rubbing his back gently.

            Eddie just nodded as he fell back on to his bed exhaling loudly just as his head hit his pillow. He knew Stan was right, he knew Richie liked him, but that didn’t stop the jittery feeling he felt in his bones. Once he landed on his pillow he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he reached in to pull it out and saw it was a text from Richie.

            _Richie: I hope you’re ready to have your socks blown off by my sk8ing skillz_

_Eddie: We will see about that ;)_

_Richie: You doubting me?_

_Eddie: I would NEVER do such a thing!_

_Richie: Whatever you say, spaghetti man_

_Eddie: Well on that note, I’m going to head off to bed_

_Richie: Okay grandma, its only 8_

_Eddie: I’m tired okay?!_

_Richie: Okay okay! Goodnight sleepy prince ;)_

 

            Eddie looked down at the last message, his eyes tracing it over and over, smiling wider each time. He could feel a soft blush dust his cheeks as he locked his phone and plugged it into its charger.

Eddie let his eyes flutter shut as the world blackened, but his thoughts wandered and they went straight to Richie; the soft, disheveled curls that adorned his head, the freckles that dusted the bridge of his nose and the tops of his cheeks, and that stupid mouth. The mouth that would spout vulgarities, but also the mouth that tasted of bubblegum and made Eddie’s insides churn delightfully. Everything about Richie made Eddie feel like a high schooler falling foolishly in love.

Not after long, he felt himself begin to drift off; it was that kind of falling asleep where you don’t really remember it happening. He was warm and pleasantly surrounded by darkness, and it was so restful that, after the week Eddie had already had, he never really wanted to leave.

 

Eddie was jolted awake to Stan poking at him,

“Eddie. Eddie, you gotta get up, you’re going to miss class.”

Eddie felt panic course through his veins as he jumped out of bed and hastily got ready. He had never been late to class, not once in his academic career. He took off the sweater he fell asleep in and threw on a new one that was bigger and drowned his small frame. He ran his hands through his hair to hastily style it into something remotely acceptable enough to make him look presentable in as short a time as possible. He grabbed his backpack and all but ran to his first class.

            Eddie spent most of the day feeling like he was going to throw up from the distress. Waking up late set his nerves on edge from the moment he opened his eyes, and his date with Richie was still weighing heavily on his mind. He would bounce his leg in class to try to help calm the anxiety that was coursing through every inch of him. He felt like his skin was vibrating, and no matter what he tried to do, he couldn’t settle his coursing veins. By the time four o’clock rolled around Eddie was ready to be back in his room for a short reprieve before his date with Richie.

            Eddie walked back to his room as quickly as he could, a mix of his anxiety and his desire for as much time alone as possible driving his hastened pace. The cold fall-transitioning-into-winter air prickled his cheeks, making them turn a soft bright red. Eddie waved his student ID in front of the blocky scanner to gain access to the from door of his building, and after getting inside, quickly made his way up the stairs and down the halls to his room. He tried the handle on the door but it was still locked, indicating Stan wasn’t back yet, and he was sure he was probably with Bill since his classes ended over an hour ago.

            Eddie walked into the cold, dark room and put his backpack on his desk chair before he made his way over to his bed where he flopped down with all the grace of a flailing fish, exhaling sharply. The cool and the dark were a much needed relief on his sense, and he looked at the time on his watch and saw he had one hour before Richie was going to be picking him up.

            As he lay there he took deep breath and exhaled, “Okay. You got this.” Eddie pushed himself up off the bed and walked over to his dresser to begin getting ready. He wanted to look nice for Richie, but he knew they were going to be skating, so he decided to pick something that would be comfortable but very flattering on him. He rummaged through his drawers until he found his large loose-knit pink sweater. It was one of his favorites to wear, especially when he paired it with his light-wash jean overalls.

            Eddie slid the sweater over his head and let it settle on his shoulders, allowing one side to slip down, showing off a little of his shoulder and collar bone. He then pulled his overalls on, clipping on one side and letting the other strap dangle unclipped. He looked in the mirror on the wall near his desk and smiled, pleased with his outfit.

            Eddie looked down at his watch again and sighed a little, relieved, seeing he still had some time to spare. He decided to use his spare time to make sure his hair was up to par, and he grabbed his brush and hair pomade and made sure it was securely styled in his usual soft brown quiff. He grabbed the bottle of cologne that sat on top of his bookshelf and spritzed it on his neck and pulse points. Nothing more aggressive than normal.

            After setting his cologne down Eddie felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He quickly retrieved it to see Richie hand sent him a text saying he was waiting outside, and to take his time if need be. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, in then out, he grabbed his bag with his skates and left the dorm.

            Eddie made his way out of the building and once outside was greeted by Richie, leaning against his car with one leg bent up and his foot resting against the side, blowing bubbles with his bubble gum. Eddie could feel his insides already begin to warm as he watched Richie look him up and down and give the most devilish smile.

            Eddie smiled shyly back as he approached Richie slowly, taking him in. He was wearing his black leather jacket with an AC/DC shirt underneath it, and of course those skinny jeans that had perfectly placed holes at the knees. Eddie never understood why someone as good looking as Richie even gave him a second glance.

            “Shit, Eds.” Richie said, cracking his gum and looking Eddie up and down.

            Eddie just looked up at Richie smiling a bit, grabbing his left arm and shifting his weight to his right foot. “You…you look really…good.” Eddie said stammering over his words trying his best not to blush.

            “Eds, I am sorry, and not to demean your other numerous and completely winning qualities, such as your bright intelligence, way with words, and endless list of jaw-dropping talents, but you look so fucking hot.” Richie said running his right hand through his hair.

            Eddie bowed his head and chuckled lightly before licking his lips, feeling his cheeks warm as well as his stomach, and then looked up to smile at him, “Thanks.”

            Richie slid away from the passenger side door that he was leaning on and opened it for Eddie. Eddie walked up to the door, smiling at Richie, and then ducked his head as he slid gracefully into the passenger seat. As he sat down he could feel his heart beat in his eardrums, so he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing his whole body to relax.

            Eddie heard the driver’s side door open and he turned to see Richie climb in, and Eddie realized he could smell him, he smelled different, not like he remembered him smelling before, not bad but very good. Richie usually had the distinct smell of cigarettes and bubblegum, which had its own allure, but today he smelled more musky with a hint of vanilla, and some other notes he couldn’t place. Eddie could feel his head begin to swim as the smell of Richie swarmed all around him.

            “You ready?” Richie said looking over at Eddie.

            “Yeah, where you taking us?” Eddie asked with a smile.

            “It’s a surprise.” Richie said, returning the smile and adding a wink.

            Richie accelerated the car as Eddie sat back and buckled himself in. He looked out the windows and watched the scenery pass by, a comfortable silence between them filled only by the softly playing radio. It felt nice, after having his nerves on edge all day. He watched as they passed neighborhoods, the small downtown that included a small movie theater that everyone loved, and barren trees getting ready to face the cold. It wasn’t that long of a drive though before Richie pulled up to the diner in town. That very same diner where Eddie felt his heart ignite and knew that he wanted to be with Richie.

            “This is where we are eating?” Eddie asked, a little surprised and delighted that this is where Richie wanted to eat.

            “Yeah, it’s the first place we really…uh, you know, met.” Richie said smiling almost shyly.

            Eddie smiled fully at the fact that Richie had chose this specific place to eat, and the reasoning behind it, and opened the passenger door and climbed out. He began to make his way over to the diner door when Richie caught up with him in time and grabbed the door.

            “M’lady.” Richie said bowing dramatically while holding the door open.

            Eddie walked into the diner and was greeted with the familiarly pleasant smell of grease and burgers. There was a sign by the hostess stand that said ‘Seat yourself!’ in some vintage font. Richie walked up and looked over at him, “Lead the way.”

            Eddie nodded slightly as he took Richie’s pinky in his, locking them together, and lead the way to the back of the diner. Eddie chose a booth that was by one of the windows and looked like it had been freshly cleaned. He slid into one side of the booth and Richie sat down on the opposite side.

            After settling a waitress in her mid-40’s approached the two. Eddie noticed she had curly brown hair with strands of grey just beginning to show, and striking physical features. Her cheekbones were sharp, nose coming to a perfect point, and piercing blue eyes.

            “Hey there, I’m Sallie, I’ll be your waitress today. Can I start you off with a drink?”

            “I’ll take a coke.” Richie said smiling up at Sallie.

            “I’ll have a strawberry milkshake please.” Eddie smiled.

            “Sure thing, I’ll be right back with those.”

            Sallie closed her ticket book and walked towards the kitchen to get the drinks they just ordered. Richie leered slightly in her direction as Sallie walked away, “Now that’s a MILF.”

            “Richie!” Eddie whispered harshly while smacking him in the head with his menu.

            “What? It’s true!” Richie said laughing.

            “Do you have to say it so loud?!”

            Richie only responded with a proud smirk on his face and leaning back in the booth at an angle, one arm on resting on the table and the other on the top of the seat. “How was your day, Ed’s?”

            “Well, I was late for my first class, I haven’t been able to focus like at all on anything, and to be honest I’ve been a nervous wreck all day.” Eddie felt the words slip out of his mouth easily, not meaning to be so openly worn down and honest about his nervousness towards tonight.

            Richie sat there in silence, staring deeply into Eddie’s nervous gaze, and Eddie began to fidget with end of his sleeve. He saw Richie begin to lean across the table a little, but Sallie chose that moment to return with their drinks.

            “Here you go boys, are you ready to order?” Sallie asked with a smile, pen at the ready to take their order.

            “I’ll take the chicken wrap with no tomato.” Eddie smiled up at her.

            “I’ll have a cheeseburger with fries.” Richie added.

            “All right, I’ll put that in, it should be out shortly.” Sallie responded closing her ticket book putting it in the pocket of her apron.

            Once Sallie walked away Richie spoke, “Eddie, I don’t want you to be nervous around me, I want you to feel comfortable.”

            “It’s hard not to be nervous around you, Rich.” Eddie said back with a wan smile, quickly realizing he had just called Richie “Rich”.

            “You can just be yourself, Eds. I already like you, so what’s there to be nervous about?” Richie said with a warm smile, reaching his arm out to give a soft pinch to Eddie’s cheek.

            Eddie let a soft laugh escape his lips, and he quickly covered his face with his hands, feeling every nerve relax in earnest for the first time today. Something about being with Richie made him so nervous but at the same time so relaxed. “Well, other than being a ball of nerves all day, it was alright, and it’s getting better by the minute. What about you, how was your day?” Eddie inquired, resting his head in his hands.

            “Well, I certainly am glad to hear that, Mr. K, I could only wonder what is making it get better.” Richie said, using some god-awful attempt at Southern Belle accent, and winked before continuing in his normal voice, “I pretty much just had class, and now I am having dinner with a really fucking cute boy. I’d say the day has been pretty good so far. One for the books, maybe even.”

Eddie couldn’t stop the smile that broke out across his face (despite Richie’s poor use of grammar), and quickly took a sip of his milkshake to try and hide it. “You sure you’re not just talking about yourself there?”

            “What do you mean? I am _positive_ , Eds, that you are the cute one here. I, on the other hand, am the sexy one. That’s the difference.”

            Eddie nearly choked on his milkshake as he began to laugh at Richie’s utter charm and stupidity. He felt the burn of milkshake about to come out of his nose, and quickly reached for his napkin to cover it and his mouth, before a complete embarrassment happened. He could see Richie trying to cover his mouth with his hand as he laughed loudly, his eyes crinkling at the corners and a flush covered his high cheeks, and Eddie tried to calm his simultaneous coughing and laughing, a painful and all the more hysterical combination.

            “I mean, I knew I was funny, but Jesus H. Christ.” Richie chuckled.

            “I’m laughing at the fact that you think _you’re_ the sexy one. Don’t get me wrong you are very sexy, but let’s be honest, I take the cake on that one.” Eddie said still laughing, feeling emboldened by the glow Richie was making him feel, and tried his best to wink at Richie, but failed epically.

            “Touché, Spaghetti, touché.” Richie said taking a sip from his coke, “But you being completely unable to wink just proves my point that you are the cute one.”

            Eddie knew he couldn’t wink for shit and felt a mildly embarrassed blush rise to his cheeks. Just as Eddie was going to shoot back at Richie, probably something about how yeah, maybe Eddie was cute, but he could still kick Richie’s ass, Sallie showed up again at their table with their burger and chicken wrap. “Here you go, boys, is there anything else I can get you?”

            “Uh, no thanks, I think we’re good.” Richie said sweetly to Sallie.

            “All right-y, well enjoy.” Sallie said, returning the smile before making her way back to the kitchen.

            Richie and Eddie began to eat their food in a comfortable silence for a short while before Richie made some joke about his burger tasting better than sex, and Eddie completely disagreeing saying sex was obviously better than a greasy burger. They both had laughed, and Richie, realizing his folly, agreed that sex was indeed better than a burger.

            As they chatted, Eddie learned that Richie was at school for journalism, hoping one day to land a job as a DJ on the radio. Eddie also learned that Richie loved music more than the average person, and he was a big fan of 80s rock and modern alternative music, completely different from Eddie’s taste in music, but entirely respectable.

            Eddie told Richie about his major and hoping one day to become a pharmacist, and maybe even having his own pharmacy. Richie listened intently with a smile as Eddie told him about his post-graduation plans. Richie asked about his favorite music, and Eddie blushed as he told him he liked Indie pop and music you hear on the radio, but Richie seemed to show some interest as well, and this made Eddie relax a little.

            They were sitting there talking when Sallie walked up again, “Are you guys ready to pay?”

            “I think we are, thank you.” Eddie said politely.

            “Alright-y, would you like the bill split?” she asked.

            “No, I’ll take it.” Richie responded quickly, taking the bill from Sallie.

            “I think not!” Eddie said, reaching his hands out, trying to grab the bill from Richie.

            “No, no, no, I got it Ed’s!” Richie raised his arm over his head, making it completely out of reach for the smaller man.

Eddie tried to grab the bill from Richie by standing up and reaching for it, but ultimately he gave up. He sat back down, admitting defeat. “Thanks, Richie.”

            “Anytime, babe.” Richie said with a smooth wink (unlike Eddie’s earlier attempt), stuffing a twenty into the little book before shutting it. “Shall we?”

            “I think we shall.” Eddie replied sliding out of the booth.

            The two walked towards the front of the diner and thanked Sallie on their way out. Once they got in Richie’s car, they made the short drive to the roller rink, and Richie quickly parked the car in the small lot. Just as soon as Richie had put the car in park, Eddie was already flying out of the car and making his way into the rink, full of excited energy to do his favourite activity, and do it with Richie. It was his chance to show off. Eddie could feel Richie’s gaze on him as he raced to the door.

            Once they entered the rink, Eddie took Richie over to get fitted for some skates. Eddie was kneeling on the ground, lacing Richie’s rented pair up while he sat on the rickety bench. Eddie could feel Richie’s gaze on him, and it made his skin tingle pleasantly. He finished lacing up Richie’s skates by tying a small bow at the top.

            “Okay, how do they feel?” Eddie asked pushing off his knees.

            “Good!” Richie nodded enthusiastically, giving the skates a wiggle with his feet.

            “Okay, let me get my skates on and then we can head to the track.” Eddie said sitting beside Richie as he began to take his own shoes off.

            Eddie quickly yet carefully laced up his skates, a practiced precision, and topped them off with a small lopsided bow on both skates, just like Richie’s. He stood up and stuck his hand out to Richie to so he could grab it. As Richie’s hand met Eddie’s, that same tingle ran through his fingertips and up his arm, consuming Eddie’s entire body with a warm, low burn. Eddie reveled in it.

            Eddie lead them both out to the track, carefully making sure Richie wouldn’t fall over on the way over and giggling when he realized Richie looked about as graceful as a baby giraffe. As they made it out on the track, the thudding music grew in intensity as they got closer to the speakers, but the track was barren, not a single person skating.

            “Alright, you ready?” Eddie turned and asked. smiling ear to ear.

            “I was born ready, Spaghetti Head!” Richie said placing his hands on his hips, but the shift in his balance causing him to wobble a little bit.

            “Oh okay, sure,” Eddie said laughing, “Just be careful!” He reached out towards Richie, placing his own hands on Richie’s hips to help balance him a bit.

            “First off, I need to show you how to get moving. There are two ways you can do it.” Eddie began to explain.

            “Well, get teachin’, because damn, I am not going to be able to concentrate or do anything functional if you keep holding my hips like that.” Richie said smoothly.

            “Fine, ANYWAY, as I was saying, there are two ways you can move forward: there is weaving your legs, which is the easiest way to learn first, in my opinion.” Eddie continued, “So what you’re going to do is just start to spread your legs apart slowly, and just as your feet go past your hips underneath you, begin to point your toes back in and bring your legs back together.” Eddie smiled up at Richie.

            “Okay, Eds, you’re the boss.” Richie smiled back and began to spread his legs slowly, hands up and out at his sides for a little added balance.

Eddie skated backwards a bit to give Richie some space, and he watched as Richie began to weave his legs slowly and made his way over to Eddie. As Richie approached he saw Richie’s legs spread further and further apart. “Oh, no…”

          “EDS!” Richie all but screeched, “HELP, I’M GONNA FUCKING EAT SHIT.” He flailed his arms a little to try and gain control, but he was almost in the splits.

Eddie skated over smoothly as Richie still squawked and helped him back into an upright position. He tried to stifle a giggle as Richie began to rub his inner thighs. “Okay, maybe not that one?” Eddie asked.

“You think? I almost went into the fucking splits! These jeans, although very flattering on my ass, don’t allow for that kind of mobility.” Richie laughed back while still massaging his inner thighs, looking only mildly indecent to anyone who may have been looking.

“Okay, so the other way is to just push outward with your legs, kind of like shuffling forward, but not quite. Just watch me.” Eddie said, and began to demonstrate the second way of skating. He pushed off with his right leg letting the left one support his weight underneath him, and then shifted so that his right leg was supporting him as he pushed with his left, and he smoothly made his way down the track and then back to Richie, stopping just short of him.

“Okay, your turn.” Eddie said, placing his hands proudly on his hips.

“Will you be there to catch me if I fall?” Richie said in a dramatic voice, looking right at Eddie.

“No, you can fall on your ass.” Eddie responded smiling playfully.

“I’m hurt, Kaspbrak!” Richie responded mock sadly, clutching his heart with all the flair of the dramatic.

“I guess don’t fall then.” Eddie patted Richie’s shoulder sympathetically.

Richie shook his head with a laugh as he began to slowly skate by pushing off with his left foot first then his right, just as Eddie had done, but with a little less grace. Eddie was surprised to see how well he was doing, and he could feel himself smiling as he saw Richie take the corner and skate up to the wall and held on to it.

“I DID IT!” Richie cheered from the opposite end of the track, wearing the biggest smile Eddie had probably ever seen, looking as though he was waiting for Eddie’s approval.

Eddie smiled and giggled a little as he made his way over to Richie. As he skated up, he reached his hand out and grabbed Richie’s, pulling him back into the main track with him. The song had switched over to _Everytime We Touch_ by Cascada.

            “Well, isn’t this ironic.” Richie said cheekily, lacing his fingers in Eddie’s hand.

            Eddie just shrugged, trying to play off the blush that dusted his cheeks as exertion, and he turned to face Richie, taking his other hand and started to skate backwards. Eddie was pulling Richie along as they both began to sing along to the song. Richie getting a bit more into it and making more of a theatrical performance of the song compared to Eddie, but unable to do too much without throwing his balance off.

            Eddie helped Richie stay stable as they skated around the track and sang at the top of their lungs, smiling and giggling all the while. The song was nearing the end when Eddie swung back around to Richie’s side, still holding his hand. The song had switched over to something neither of them knew, but was still rather upbeat. Not knowing the lyrics to the song, Eddie decided to initiate a conversation to engage Richie a bit more.

            “So, uh, when did you figure it out?” Eddie asked.

            “Figure what out?” Richie asked holding tightly onto Eddie’s hand for balance.

            “When did you figure out that you weren’t straight?” Eddie blushed.

            “Oh, high school, like pretty much everyone else. I had my first girlfriend in middle school, but then going to high school really opened my eyes. I saw this boy, and I knew I had more than just friendly feelings, you know? I got that gut-tight feeling and butterflies and all that sappy shit that comes along with crushes. But I was confused because I was still attracted to women as well.” Richie began to explain.

            “I had begun to get these feelings, and crushes on guys _and_ girls all the time, and I was just so confused and frustrated. Everyone only talked about gay or straight, ya know? I had just decided to bury everything, and not think about it, especially after one day I brought up liking both boys and girls to some friends and they shot it down right away, said that there was no such thing, that it wasn’t possible to like both. I was scared and suppressed it hardcore. I would sneak around with guys all throughout high school and openly be with girls all the time.

            “It was coming to college where I really finally _accepted_ my bisexuality. I met some others who were bisexual, like Bev, and few others, who actually told me that bisexuality was a thing, and that it was totally okay and normal. I told my parents after my freshman year here, and they were actually pretty open and understanding and have been very supportive.” Richie sighed looking over at Eddie with a hesitant smile on his face.

            Eddie could feel himself tearing up a bit hearing what Richie had gone through with his sexuality. Eddie didn’t know what to say or do, so he just slowly brought them to a stop, turned to looked up at Richie and said, “You are valid. To me, to the world, and no one should tell or convince you otherwise.”

            Eddie could see Richie’s smile grow, and he brought his thumb up to Eddie’s cheek to swipe away a lone escaped tear, “You got it, Spaghetti head, you’re the boss.”

            Just as Richie had finished speaking, the song switched to another upbeat tune, this time a song the both of them knew, and sent a thrill of excitement through their bodies. The sweet guitar of AC/DC’s _You Shook Me All Night Long_ came through the speakers, and Richie’s face completely lit up as he turned and began to skate again, a bit faster and steadier, and started to play air guitar along with the song.

            Eddie and Richie were laughing as they both skated kicking their legs, playing the air guitar and screaming the lyrics, Eddie surprised by Richie’s quite good impression and singing voice. Eddie began to shake his hips swiftly and smoothly to the beat, and dropped lower to the ground as the guitar solo came on. He watched as Richie eyed him and continued to play the air guitar.

            Just as the second guitar solo was coming around the music abruptly stopped and transitioned into _Take My Breath Away_. Eddie, taken by surprise at the abrupt change, began to lose his balance, and he felt his body tilt back and fall flat on the track. He winced a little at the pain in his tail bone, but looked up to see Richie coming directly towards him, a look of concern on his face, and Richie tried to stop in time but lost his balance instead, falling right on top him.

            Richie made a graceful ‘OOF ‘ sound as he landed on Eddie, his face ending up smooshed into Eddie’s chest, arms flailing a little for purchase on the ground, and when he was finally able to right himself slightly, he looked up only to come face to face with Eddie, whose eyes were looking directly into his. The two froze, and Richie could see that Eddie’s mouth was parted a little bit, feeling soft puffs of air against his skin. From here he could count every cute little freckle on Eddie’s nose, and he was sure Eddie could do the same. They stared at each other, neither sure who was going to make the first move, but when Richie began to lean in a little closer to Eddie, the smaller man grabbed the sides of Richie’s face and brought their lips together, and Richie wasted no time kissing back.

            It was a little awkward because of the angle and position they were in, but Eddie swore nothing had ever felt this good or right. Richie’s lips were warm, plush, and smooth, and he unconsciously pressed his own against Richie’s harder, tilting their heads to deepen the kiss. Eddie felt himself sigh a little, and parted his lips ever so slightly, inviting Richie in. He felt Richie’s warm tongue graze his inner lower lip and he couldn’t control the shiver that ran down his spine in response. Eddie pushed his own tongue into Richie’s mouth in return, letting it explore, and reveling in the feeling of their tongues meeting in the middle. The song was picking up, and that’s when Eddie came back to Earth, and pulled away gasping.

            He looked up at Richie, into his deep, dark brown eyes, and couldn’t resist saying, “Rich, you take my breath away.” Richie couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of his chest, and Eddie pulled him back in for another kiss. They stayed there, in the middle of track in the middle of the roller rink, kissing and not caring who was there or who saw.


End file.
